Sarpanch, brother gunned down; Body of one assailant recovered later

A Sarpanch and his brother were shot dead outside their house, while body of one of the suspects was recovered later from a vehicle, police said today.

In a suspected case of revenge killing, Gurmail Singh, Sarpanch of Khai village and a local Akali leader, and his brother Karam Singh were shot dead while their nephew Hardeep Singh was injured when armed men opened fire last evening.

The suspects were identified as Gurjan Singh, Malkit Singh, Dharamjeet Singh, all belonging to Khai village, Mattoo of Madheke village and Bhadoria of Nihalsingh Wala.

According to police, the suspects, who escaped in a jeep soon after firing at the Sarpanch, abandoned the car at Pakharvadh village and escaped towards Bathinda in another vehicle.

The body of accused Dharamjeet Singh was recovered this morning, they said, adding that he may have died after sustaining bullet injuries in the return fire by the security officer of the Sarpanch.

One of the men had allegedly plotted the shootout when he suspected that a case in which he was imprisoned had been registered at the behest of the village head, they added.